So now it’s time to turn a new page with my site and start blogging on my new site. Things have been a little crazy over the last little while because not only am I dealing with my CRPS but my wife is dealing with a medical issue of her own at the moment. She’s had some surgery done last week and now she is on the mend.  So for the next 6 weeks she has to put her feet up and rest, not an easy task if your my wife!! Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to have some extra stress added to my plate. So things on this site have kind of taken a back seat while I deal with my family.

I’ve decided that because I’m starting things fresh at this site, that it would be perfect to describe a little about who I am and why I’ve started a site about CRPS/RSD. It also happens to be CRPS/RSD Awareness Month and so it all ties into that very well together. As you may or may not know I’ve suffered from CRPS/RSD now for six years come January. I became affected shortly after having some surgery to remove some cysts from my left arm. After having the surgery my arm started to swell and the fingers on that hand became the size of sausages! Nobody really knew what was happening and I started to bounce from doctor to doctor trying to figure things out. My frustration started to grow as I was looking for answers yet nobody could give me any answers. In the meantime my hand began to turn purple and go all types of funky colors, and I lost the use of my fingers.  To make a long story short it took about a year until I was finally diagnosed! It took me going to another city but I finally had a diagnosis!!

After being diagnosed I began a treatment plan which consists of various elements all designed to help with the symptoms that CRPS/RSD presents. I do active and passive therapy as well as relaxation therapy that helps to calm the nervous system. I forgot to tell you that not only is my hand affected, but now my left ankle is now affected as well. I won’t get into the nitty gritty because I can go into that some other time however all you need to know is that I injured my ankle and the CRPS then moved into it. I know that I’m skipping over details however I really want to just give you the basics of what happened because trying to cram 6yrs into this post is near impossible. It has taken me a really long time to come to terms with what has happened and it’s taken my faith in God to get me through. What I would recommend to anyone who is newly diagnosed is to learn as much as possible and arm yourself with knowledge so that when you suffer from symptoms you understand why it’s happening. There may not be a cure however you can learn to manage your pain, and understand how and why you suffer. 

So as I eluded to there is extreme pain that I suffer from in both my limbs, as well I suffer from severe headaches when the pain gets really bad. As well noise at various levels bothers me. There are all kinds of different symptoms that I suffer from however what is important to know, is that over time I have been learning how to control the flare ups as they affect me. It isn’t easy and I am not always able to control them but the way I look at it is that I am able to arm myself with the tools I need to reduce my symptoms. It’s been a learning process through all this and I continue to fight to get better. I continue to learn how to improve my quality of life while living with something that the medical community doesn’t fully understand. If there was one thing I could recommend it’s that you need to never give up and stay positive.